Autism Society Philippines, SM Cares to hold Angels Walk for Autism 2020
As part of this year’s celebration of the Philippine National Autism Consciousness Week, SM Cares, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of SM Supermalls, and the Autism Society Philippines (ASP) will be holding the annual Angels Walk for Autism on January 26 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
The event, which started in 2007, has grown from 200 participants in its first staging to an estimated 24,000 in the event’s iteration last year. The walk advocates for the acceptance, accommodation and appreciation of every Filipino with autism.
“Our ultimate goal is to achieve a completely autism-friendly Philippines,” Mona Magno-Veluz, National President of Autism Society Philippines said. “We have made great strides in making Filipinos more accepting of those with autism and we hope that through events like the Angels Walk for Autism, we can continue to make the Philippines a place where every individual that has autism is valued, loved, and treated with dignity.”
This year’s Angels Walk for Autism, which will serve as the culminating activity of this year’s National Autism Consciousness Week, celebrates the strong family bond of Filipinos that has pushed the advocacy of acceptance for people with autism from our country’s boundaries to the communities of ASEAN and the world. Simultaneous autism walks are also scheduled to happen in SM City Bacolod, SM City Cebu, SM City Lucena, SM Olongapo Central and SM City Davao.
“We strive to make every SM a destination that is welcoming of everyone. We believe in a society that is inclusive and welcoming of every Filipino. That is the reason behind our continued support for advocacies that call for inclusion, awareness and appreciation. Persons with autism are valuable members of our community and we continue to support partners, to shine a light on important advocacies that contribute to nation building,” Engr. Bien C. Mateo, SVP Operations and Program Director of SM Cares Program on PWDs said.
This year, participants will come from various sectors of our society—families, professionals, supporters, employees from the different business units of SM, and advocates from the public and private sectors. The Angels Walk for Autism will start at the MOA Arena and will end at the SM MOA Music Hall.
The event is free for everyone who is interested to join. To know more about the event, visit www.autismsocietyphilippines.org, to register for the Angels Walk for Autism log on to https://bit.ly/39ACUsV.
